Wat U Mong

One of our first excursions was to Wat U Mong, a Buddhist temple in the forest on the western outskirts of Chiang Mai. (Wat is the Thai word for temple. You’ll see a lot of these in the following sections of the travelogue. U Mong means “tunnel” in Thai.) This temple was likely founded and built in the 14th century, though it fell into disuse toward the end of the 15th century. It was revived as an active temple in 1948, and is a center for Buddhist teaching and meditation.

The forested setting was tranquil and beautiful. We saw few other visitors the day we were there. It’s a quiet place that seems very well suited to its purpose.